Springing to life

More lovely days with Californian sisters Mary and Joanna, dividing our time between a sixteenth floor apartment with a view and on the number 15 bus.

We “discovered” the Sir John Soane’s museum and loved the extra wallspace he engineered for his pictures.  We fell in love with Mrs Delany whilst there and would have welcomed her into our circle where we felt she’d have fitted in perfectly.

We walked over Waterloo Bridge and enjoyed fine views of the city on our way to supper at the Anchor and Hope with Paulene, Tom Stoppard and Miranda Richardson, though the latter pair didn’t have much to say to us ;-)

Friday morning was supposed to be Suffrage in Chelmsford but last minute changes to the programme meant that Mary had to make a secret assignation and whisper a few words in Michael’s ear to purloin three tickets for the sold out Van Gogh exhibition.  I fear we were three visitors too many, for the crowds made viewing somewhat challenging, but hey ho…the colours were marvellous!

After a spot of lunch and a glass of champagne in the magnificent artdeco surroundings of Claridges, it was time to relax a little.

We retreated to a sunny spot in Berkeley Square for an hour with Major Pettigrew before a visit to the Irving Penn exhibit and supper at Portrait.

Did we ever stop talking?

Sunshine

At last, a few sunny days to share with friends.  Spring seems to have finally got its act together and we managed to spend time out enjoying the fresh air.

We’ve been to Cardiff, to walk around the grand government buildings

to appreciate the details on the smaller but no less grand pierhead building

and the undulating roof of the Welsh Assembly.

There was art to amuse

and retail therapy on hand if we felt the need – on this occasion we didn’t, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it won’t be long before we do.

Happy Christmas!

The best kind of Christmas present is one which lasts.  Even better if, having opened (and already enjoyed) my own present, I get to share someone else’s too.

Edward gave Mark a CD of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain for Christmas and bundled inside the package were two tickets for their concert in Bath, last night. 

Brilliant!

We loved the carefree spirit, the surprises, the laughs and above all, the sheer musicianship – it was a truly great night out and we left with huge smiles on our faces, humming a weird but amusing assortment of everything from “Anarchy in the UK” to “Take me back to Sorrento”.

Magic.

Tada!

About time too.

I’ve completed two crochet granny squares, one of which meets with my approval.  It’s only taken me a couple of years and the advice and guidance of three very capable teachers to achieve something I am sure I used to be able to do when I was twelve.

My first granny square was worked using a 4mm Aero inox hook.  Though I was ok about how it squared up, I wasn’t so fussed about the colour changes and the way it highlighted the “step up”.

I also noticed how quickly my hand began to ache slightly, possibly because I was gripping the hook too tightly, though I was doing my best to keep everything more loose than I normally do.

So I went walkabout and found another hook, this time a Clover one, size 3.5mm.  I found this much easier on my hands, far more comfortable to use and whipped off another square in no time.  I looked closely to see where to change colours, surprised to find that the best place to change is well before the step up. 

Putting the two squares together, it’s interesting to see how much that 0.5mm difference in hook size makes.  I prefer the smaller, tighter one to the loose and floppy and feel I can claim, at last, that I can crochet granny squares!

What next, I wonder?

About time for some culture

It’s been a while since we had a day out but with the forecast promising no improvement in the chilly, rainy weather, we opted for an indoor destination: The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Having undergone transformation recently, it’s somewhere which has been on our list to visit before the tourists arrive, most certainly not a place to go on a weekend or bank holiday.  A brisk Wednesday morning in the week before the school holidays begin seemed more than acceptable.

We did our usual trick of starting at the “wrong end”, needing a little sustenance from the fourth floor restaurant before we embarked on our exploration, but were so pleased we did.  There was a remarkable exhibition of drawings/prints done by Weimin He, a Fellow of Chinese Painting at the museum, recording the people who have worked on the transformation.

The portraits were delightful and depicted everyone from the permanent museum staff to the construction workers and contractors.  Some were framed and hung, others were laid on the floor as above, which proved an effective means of showing a large number of similar works.

Most of these portraits were worked in a loose, sketchy style, with minimal shading but highly effective personal details.

But though these woodcut-style prints were heavier and less detailed, they nevertheless worked for both of us and we spent quite some time enjoying the chance to take a closer look and note the characters, the situations and the humour.

It proved to be a great start to our visit.

Next we wandered into the exhibit charting the whole process of transformation from the initial concept, through the minute detail of planning right through to the grand opening last November.  Can you believe that every object was drawn to scale and catalogued as above?

The whole process of working all of this out, making miniature models of the proposed display cabinets and arrangements fascinated us both and we spent another while ooohing and aaaaahing at the thought of putting all of this together.  What a fascinating job.

But we had come for culture and though this was all very interesting, we made on and wandered through several art galleries before spotting a pair of gorgeous furry feet.

I bet you can guess whose feet they are?

Yes, I’m always a sucker for a Samurai!  As usual, I am fascinated by the knots, the braids, the detail.  Oh, and of course, the slippers!

These galleries were full of school groups though, generally older students sketching and working on their own, but nevertheless, the luxury of having the place to ourselves wasn’t there.  We contented ourselves with picking out one or two choice pieces for close inspection – I particularly liked the way in which this chrysanthemum cup and saucer was displayed with the quotation behind it.  Lovely colour too.

Fortunately, the museum has an enlightened approach towards photography and permits the use of cameras without flash.  So, I was able to add to my collection of finely worked cuffs on beautifully painted hands.  Above, by Frans Hals and below, by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

The best thing is that there is plenty left for further visits.  We’ll be back!